Hotel Owners seek FG’s intervention over challenges bedeviling industry

By Chimezie Godfrey

Hotel Owners in Abuja have called for Federal Government’s intervention to address challenges mitigating against the development of the hotel industry in the country.
.
The Hotel Owners Forum, HOFA, has called on the Federal Government to assist the hotel industry address challenges mitigating against its development.

The President, Hotel Owners Forum, HOFA made the call on Tuesday in Abuja, at the Hotel Business Conference & Expo with the theme,”The Future of Hospitality in Nigeria: Challenges & Opportunities.”

Mrs Kazeem noted that the hotel industry is the second highest employer of labour in Abuja, expressed regret that despite its enormous contributing to the country’s GDP, the industry is not given its pride of place in the scheme of things.

The HOFA President who lamented that rather than the recognition it deserves, the hotel industry especially in Abuja has been bedevilled by mirage of challenges.

She said,”It give us great pleasure to see Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA) grow in numbers and strength every year. We are honored to see a changing skyline of hotel sector not just in Abuja but in Nigeria t large and a massive growing rate of hotels, beds and breakfast and apartments across the country while contributing immensely to the GDP of Abuja and the country.

“Permit me to say that the hospitality industry, the hotels in particular are the second largest employer of labour in Abuja after the federal government, as you an see the there are no industries here in Abuja.

“We now have internal brand name hotels opening up every now and then as part of the international chain hotels calling Nigeria home.

“Unfortunately, we are not given the pride of place in the scheme of things when it matters. Instead, the industry is bedevilled by mirage of challenges ranging from land use contravention, multiplicity of taxes and levies/duplication of responsibilities, negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and harassement by government agencies.

“We are pleading that the federal government should help the industry get out of these challenges.”

The Chairman,. Board of Trustees, HOFA, Chika Chiejina stressed the need for incentives to be given the industry to grow, adding that if the industry grows it would add to the country’s GDP.

He urged the industry players to diversify so that they could all derive maximum benefit from the industry.

Chiejina who commended the President and other Executives of HOFA for their efforts initiating the conference, which he said was the first edition of a hotel business conference where all hotel investors, hotel operators, hotel value chain suppliers, government agencies were brought together,
stressed that tourism is a significant index of Nigeria’s national development.

“In over two decades of our very robust existence, this is the first edition of a hotel business conference where all hotel investors, hotel operators, hotel value chain suppliers, government agencies with allied interests in hotel activities, hotel users and indeed the general public are being brought together under one roof to progress positively our common interest in the development of the sub-sector. Tourism no doubt remains a significant index in our national development,” he said.

Also speaking, the Director General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, NTDC, Folorunsho Coker urged government to fix the laws that governs tourism in the country to enable the industry move forward.

Coker who decried backwardness of tourism development in Nigeria, said without proper laws that governs tourism, the industry would not move forward.

He said,”If you don’t look at the laws that govern tourism, we can’t move forward. Fix the frame works that address legislative and regulatory operations of the industry.

“Who has the latest copy of the National Tourism Documents, everybody is going there separate ways.”

NTDC DG hinted that despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism in Nigeria is back up, adding that the industry has faster recovery from COVID-19 than any other industry.

He discouraged the over reliance on degree certificate which according to him is not the best for the growth and development of the industry, but urged that the focus should be on vocational training.

“Tourism in Nigeria is back up 60% post-COVID recovery. It is the industry that has faster recovery from COVID-19 than any other industry.

“We need to focus on vocational training. There are different training through which people can be trained to qualify them to work anywhere,” he said.

Coker called for the establishment of the tourism satellite account, adding that it is the only way what have been achieved, saying that there is no country that does not have tourism satellite account.

Among other things, he stressed need for the country to have enterprise development census for women in tourism.

He further stressed the importance of technology, adding,”technology is the main thing in tourism, if the digital age misses your hotel, is almost a death sentence if you don’t embrace technology.

“You know what technology is doing to the publishing industry, the music industry, so, we must embrace technology,” he said.

Present at auspicious occasion were the DG NIHOTOUR, FTAN President, representatives of the Minister of State, FCT, among others.